


Little Spoon

by nakiriknife



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:39:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakiriknife/pseuds/nakiriknife
Summary: Every time it happened he told himself he’d never forgive him and some part of him didn’t, but it was a very small part compared to the rest of him that missed Dick’s company.





	Little Spoon

        If it weren’t for Jason’s persistence Roy swore he wouldn’t be here.  He’d be anywhere, but here because anywhere was better.  But here he was, climbing the steps of a back stairway, the railing painted a fresh blue while the concrete steps remained dull and gray.  The echo of his footsteps bounced from one wall to another with nowhere to go.  It was a small space, stuffy and hot, but it drew out the time it would have taken to reach the fourth floor had he used the elevator instead. 

        Roy found it ironic.  He was only here because Jason insisted and wouldn’t stop insisting until he agreed to his demands.  He had only done so because the man’s voice was becoming increasingly unbearable, the conversation boring and annoying to entertain.  Now that he was here, he thought it would have been better to listen to Jason’s nagging than to have to climb the rest of those stairs.  It was always easier to go down rather than up after all.  To see him first felt like he was admitting some sort of defeat, admitting that Dick was right, but there was no right or wrong when they spit and barked at each other like rabid dogs.

        A brief moment of wonder crossed his mind.  Roy thought himself rather content with the lack of conversation between himself and Dick.  In all honesty, he didn’t think Jason would care much whether he talked to the man or not either.  So why was he so persistent?  What did he see that he thought it necessary for Roy to make the first move?

        It didn’t quite matter because here he was, making his way across the carpet of the fourth floor only to come at a standstill in front of Dick’s front door.  He stared down at the rug, seemingly mesmerized by the burnt orange framing the bright reds in hexagonal patterns.  Each shape was followed by a deep brown, tacked along the other two colors in a thick outline.  Staring at this was much more interesting than what he thought he’d find in that apartment, but without much prompting from himself, he lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles against the wood. 

        There was a moment of relief when the door didn’t open.  His mind made quick work on convincing himself that the man must not be home and therefore he could leave.  This way he could tell Jason he tried without feeling much guilt.  However, he found himself breaking into the apartment anyways, silently as he usually did when he didn’t want Dick to notice.  It wasn’t Roy’s typical act as he much preferred to make an entrance and startle the man, but he wasn’t at all in the mood to even see him, let alone startle him.

        So why was he walking inside?

        Upon entering he felt a wave of bitterness come over him.  It squeezed at his chest, making his throat tighten and his head fog with unresolved anger.  Each cut Dick gave him still burned hot and bright as it did a month ago when he stood here.  He remembered each word like it had all happened yesterday, remembered Dick’s face as he said them, his teeth bared and anger flashing within his eyes, the punches to his jaw and jabs to his stomach leaving a mess in his head and a painful throb in his heart. 

        Every time it happened he told himself he’d never forgive him and some part of him didn’t, but it was a very small part compared to the rest of him that missed Dick’s company.

        The moonlight illuminated the living room in waves of blue and gray.  It didn’t do much in the way of giving him a clear path, but it lit up the room just enough to where he could make his way around without bumping into the coffee table.  The television sat in silence, the lights remained cold, the couch didn’t have an indent of someone having just sat on it.  The home felt empty. 

        Without much consideration, Roy poked his head past the door of Dick’s bedroom.  Everything looked to be normal, all except for the large lump in the middle of the bed and the absolute mess surrounding it.  The floor was covered with dirty laundry, some cooped up in piles and others strewn about.  There were a few dishes on his nightstand and others by his bedside, again, on the floor.  They had small scraps of soggy cereal and old milk left over, which struck Roy as odd as Dick wasn’t one to waste even a crumb of Frosted Flakes.  Wrappers from what he assumed were granola bars and more were littered all over the room.  He had to admit, he was at least glad the man was managing to eat something. 

        With a sigh, Roy pushed the door open just enough to be able to pass the threshold and padded across the room.  Further inspection of the blanket heap led him to believe Dick was still awake and wrapped within the comfort of his sheets, but it was easy to tell that he wasn’t comfortable at all.

        Roy felt his anger melt away, the words Dick had spoken becoming a distant memory, the ghost pains fading into nothing and his face twisted in anger becoming a blur.  As if the fight and all the other fights before it had never happened in the first place.  He opened his mouth to speak, to call out his name, but something told him that right now he was too far off to hear him.  Perhaps, he didn’t want to hear him.  Maybe it was another voice he yearned for, but it mattered very little to Roy.  He was the one the man got and he wouldn’t just walk away to leave him in his misery.  He knew all too well what it felt like. 

        Looking down at Dick with no idea what to say ate at him.  He wasn’t usually good with words or comforting people, but to not try would eat at him even more.  Without much thought, Roy wormed himself underneath the covers, doing his best to get into the blankets Dick held close to his body.  With an annoyed huff, he peaked his head out from underneath the sheets and stared at the man.  “Move over, Dick.  You know I like to be the little spoon.”

        To see Dick blink in confusion at him was nothing short of satisfying.  It had washed away the sadness that was their previously, looking back at Roy but not really seeing him.  His eyes were still swollen, but he would never mention it, he’ll even pretend he didn’t notice, but it was hard when the red only made the blue brighter.  As soon as he shook it away, his brows furrowed and his lips turned down into a deep frown.  He stared at Roy with those piercing eyes and for a moment he couldn’t tell whether he was angry or actually seeing him as if it was the first time. 

        “The more faces you make like that, the more wrinkles you’ll get ya know.”

        “What are you doing in my bed?” Dick grumbled, his crystal glare feeling like daggers stabbing into him when this close.  His voice was low, as if he were trying to keep quiet from someone but it was by no means threatening.  Even if it was, Roy couldn’t take him seriously like this.  Dick’s hair in disarray, wrapped up tight like a burrito before Roy had pulled it apart to make room for himself.  He couldn’t take him seriously being so close to him without being at his mercy or Dick at his. 

        “Shut up,” Roy grumbled back, not bothering to be as quiet as the night prompted Dick to be.  He stared at him with the same intensity, but his gaze wasn’t cold.  He dropped the volume of his voice now, matching his companion’s as if secrets were being exchanged.  “I’m being a good a friend.”

        Before embarrassment could overtake him, before Dick could get a good look of it, he wiggled around so his back was facing towards him.  He rather die than have the man see that he was flustered.  Roy covered it up by acting as his annoying self, taking the liberty to yank some of the blankets away from the other and hog it all for himself so he wouldn’t be left in the cold any longer. 

        There was a moment of surprise that wiped away Dick’s annoyance at finding another in his bed, but Roy spared him no time to examine him or to make sense of it all.  Though, he was glad he turned his back to him when he did, if anything other than to keep Roy from seeing him smile.  The tension in his chest unraveled a bit and he felt warmth return to him.  His inner voice of depreciation and self-hate had been hushed and quickly replaced with ways to arouse Roy’s frustration.  Though, he put a pause on that as well, wrapping his arms around him as if it would keep him grounded to reality if only for a little while longer.  At least until they fell into much needed sleep.

        “Thank you…” He murmured.

        “Hey… It’s what friends are for.”

 


End file.
